US North America Flashcards
What % of wine production in America does California account for?
90%
What are the primary winegrowing latitudes? How does the US fall into this?
30-50 and the US territory is almost entirely within these latitudes.
What word is commonly used to describe the flavor of grapes from the species labrusca?
Fox or Foxy
Which four grapes are referred to as native American hybrids and have characteristics similar to those of labrusca vines?
Catawba, Delaware, Niagara, Concord
Two other native american hybrid grapes that are not of the species labrusca are?
Norton and Scuppernong
What are three french-american hybrids that served as a temporary solution to the phylloxera problem in France?
Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc, and the red Chambourcin
Which two grapes can be considered unique to the US in that there are very little to no other wines made with these varieties around the world?
Zinfandel and Petite Sirah
Who is the agency in charge of alcoholic beverage control at the national level in the US?
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) of the Department of the Treasury
What does AVA stand for? How many are in the US and how many of those are in California?
American Viticultural Area; 200 are in the US and 110 of those are in CA
What 8 things are wine labels required to have on them in the US?
1) a brand name 2) the class or type of wine (can be implied and not explicit) 3) alcohol content (table wine means it’s less than 14%) 4) the name or address of the bottler or importer 5) place of origin 6) the net content (volume) of the bottle 7) a sulfite statement (if it contains 10 ppms or more sulfur dioxide) 8) a health warning
What is a “semi-generic” wine?
A wine that is named so that it clearly refers to European wine regions “american chablis” or “california white port” etc. These are allowed in the US but the EU will not allow such wines to be imported.
What is meant by “naturally fermented in this bottle” vs. “naturally fermented in the bottle”?
“Naturally fermented in this bottle” means the wine was made by the traditional method while “naturally fermented in the bottle” indicates a wine that was made by the transfer method.
How would you recogniaze a sparkling wine in the US made by tank-method?
It will say “fermented outside the bottle”
What variation of alcoholic content does the TTB allow?
1.5%
What variation of alcoholic content does the TTB allow for dessert or sparkling wines?
1%
What phrase would indicate wines from a negociant vs. wines from someone who grew and made the wine?
A wine from a negociant might say “blended, cellared, and bottled by” while a wine from a bottler involved in making the wine would state “grown, produced, and bottled by”
If a US wine chooses to include a vintage date on the bottle, what three rules must they follow?
1) for wines from an AVA or foreign equivalent appellation, a minimum of 95% of the wine must come from that year 2) if the plage of origin is listed as a US state or country or the equivalent of this in another country (french vin de pays or italian igt) 85% of the grapes must come from that year. 3) it must have a place of origin more specific than a country. “American wine” or basic table wine from Spain would not be allowed to display a vintage date.
What does the term “meritage” indicate?
It is meant to symbolize a white or red Bordeaux blend
If a single grape variety appears on a US wine label, what % of wine must come from that grape?
75%
What are three exceptions to the 75% grape variety labelling rule?
1) the minimum is reduced to 51% for native american grape varieties. 2) oregon requires 90% 3) if no one grape variety constitutes 75%, it can be varietally labeled as long as all the varieties are named.
What is the minimum % of a single grape variety that a wine must contain in order to be varietally labeled and exported to the EU?
85%; however, the EU and US formed an agreement that allows varietally labeled US wines to be exported to the EU with only 75%
From largest to smallest, what are the 5 places of origin in the US based on size?
Country, state, county, AVA, vineyard
What is the minimum content that must come from a country, state, county, ava, and specific vineyard in the US?
Country (75% and 100% if you are naming three contiguous states) State 75% (except CA which is 100%, up to three contiguous counties also 100%), County 75%, AVA 85%, specific vineyard 95%
What three rules must the US follow in order to label a wine “estate bottled”?
1) the grapes must come from one or more vineyards owned or leased by the winery 2) the vineyard(s) must be within a single AVA 3) the winery must also be located in that AVA
What are 5 broad regional AVAs in CA?
North Coast (napa, sonoma, mendocino, and lake counties north of San Fran Bay), Sierra Foothills (in the Sierra Nevada mountains east of Sacramento), San Fransisco Bay (covering the area from San Francisco and Oakland south to Santa Cruz), Central Coast (Pacific Coast counties between Oakland and SB), South Coast (below LA)
What are these 5 regional AVAs sometimes referred to as?
Super-AVAs
What % of California’s wine production does Napa account for?
4% - though it does much more by dollar volume
What is the climate like in Napa?
The air works its way north off the chilly waters of San Pablo Bay which brings frequent morning fogs and keeps the southern part of the couny significantly cooler than farther north.
What is the climate in CA?
Mediterranean that rarely brings rainfall or even clouds during summer and harvest season.
What are the 15 AVAs in Napa (north to south)?
Calistoga, Howell Mountain, Diamond Mountain, Spring Mountain District, Chiles Valley, St. Helena, Rutherford, Oakville, Atlas Peak, Stags Leap District, Yountville, Mount Veeder, Oak Knoll, Wild Horse Valley, Carneros
